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Mike the Headless Chicken
Mike the Headless Chicken (April 1945 – March 1947), also known as Miracle Mike, was a Wyandotte rooster that lived for 18 months after its head had been mostly cut off. Thought by many to be a hoax, the bird was taken by its owner to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to establish its authenticity. Beheading On September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado, had his mother-in-law around for supper and was sent out to the yard by his wife to bring back a chicken. Olsen chose a five-and-a-half month old cockerel named Mike. The axe missed the jugular vein, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact. Despite Olsen's botched handiwork, Mike was still able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily; it even attempted to preen and crow, although it could do neither. After the bird did not die, a surprised Mr. Olsen decided to continue to care permanently for Mike, feeding it a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper; it was also fed small grains of corn. Mike occasionally choked on its own mucus, which the Olsen family would clear using a syringe. When used to its new and unusual center of mass, Mike could easily get itself to the highest perches without falling. Its crowing, though, was less impressive and consisted of a gurgling sound made in its throat, leaving it unable to crow at dawn. Mike also spent its time preening and attempting to peck for food with its neck. Being semi-headless did not keep Mike from putting on weight; at the time of its partial beheading it weighed two and a half pounds, but at the time of its death this had increased to nearly eight pounds. Fame Once its fame had been established, Mike began a career of touring sideshows in the company of such other creatures as a two-headed calf. It was also photographed for dozens of magazines and papers, featuring in Time and Life magazines. Olsen drew criticism from some for keeping the semi-headless chicken alive. Mike was on display to the public for an admission cost of 25 cents. At the height of its popularity the chicken earned princely $4,500 USD per month ($50,000 in 2005 dollars) and was valued at $10,000. Olsen's success resulted in a wave of copycat chicken beheadings, but no other chicken lived for more than a day or two. A pickled chicken head was also on display with Mike, but this was not Mike's original head, as a cat had already eaten it. Mike was later examined by the officers of several humane societies and was declared to have been free from any suffering. A children's playground chant soon emerged: "Mike, Mike, where's your head? Even without it, you're not dead!" Death In March 1947, at a motel in Phoenix on a stopover while traveling back home from tour, Mike started choking in the middle of the night. As the Olsens had inadvertently left their feeding and cleaning syringes at the sideshow the day before, they were unable to save Mike. Lloyd Olsen claimed that he had sold the bird off, resulting in stories of Mike still touring the country as late as 1949. Other sources, including the Guinness Book of World Records, say that the chicken's severed trachea could not take in enough air properly to be able to breathe; and therefore choked to death in the motel. Post mortem, it was determined that the had missed the carotid artery and a clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of its head was severed, most of its brain stem and one ear was left on its body. Since basic functions (breathing, heart-rate, etc) as well as most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem, Mike was able to remain quite healthy. Legacy in Fruita Mike the Headless Chicken is now an institution in Fruita, Colorado, with an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day", the third weekend of May, starting in 1999. Events held include the "5K Run Like a Headless Chicken Race", egg toss, "Pin the Head on the Chicken", the "Chicken Cluck-Off", and "Chicken Bingo", in which chicken droppings on a numbered grid choose the numbers. There is also a song about Mike by the band Radioactive Chickenheads. Notes References * * * External links * Mike the Headless Chicken.org at City of Fruita * Mike the Headless Chicken at The Straight Dope * Mike the Headless Chicken at Geocaching * Mike the Headless Chicken at Life (magazine) Category:1945 animal births Category:1947 animal deaths Category:Famous birds Category:Chicken Category:Forteana de:Mike (Hahn) fr:Mike le poulet sans tête ko:머리 없는 닭 마이크 it:Mike il pollo senza testa he:מייק, התרנגול חסר הראש lb:Mike (Hunn) nl:Mike de kip zonder kop ja:首なし鶏マイク pl:Bezgłowy kurczak Mike pt:Mike, a galinha sem cabeça fi:Mike (kukko) tl:Mike, ang Pugot na Manok zh:無頭雞麥克